It’s something we all like to forget about, but, every day, 130 million gallons of wastewater is sent from our sewer system to a treatment plant near 91st Avenue and Broadway Road.

There, it’s broken down, treated, and almost entirely reused.

“Everything here is really re-purposed, we try to be as sustainable as possible,” said Dennis Porter, assistant director for Water Services with the City of Phoenix’s wastewater operations.

When wastewater comes into the plant, a lot of it is turned into fertilizer – not for food – and, after the water is treated, much of it goes to the Palo Verde Nuclear plant, which uses it to cool their reactors.